CNN show recognizes Hollywood man's work

Fighting poverty among his causes

Aaron Jackson comes from wealth but lives in a Hollywood homeless shelter that he's turned into a global anti-poverty network with branches in Haiti, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Guatemala.

That's why he's being honored this week on CNN as an international "Hero," one of dozens of unsung advocates the network has profiled this year.

After seeing Jackson's segment on the cable news network, viewers voted him as one of six Hero finalists who will be interviewed Sunday night at 9 p.m. on Larry King Live. If Jackson is selected as the viewers' ultimate choice during a special program Thursday night on CNN, he'll be feted by superstars such as hip-hop singer Wyclef Jean, Sheryl Crow and actress Glenn Close.

Jackson, who was featured in a 2006 South Florida Sun-Sentinel project on children living with HIV, created four orphanages with 30 children in Haiti on a shoestring budget through donations he raised from his homeless work in Broward County.

Since then, the 26-year-old has launched another orphanage in Ecuador, and is starting other projects in Guatemala, Peru and Brazil that will combine anti-poverty work with a growing environmental bent. He's also planning to distribute 1.5 million de-worming treatments he recently purchased for Haiti, which has the highest rate of child malnutrition and infant mortality in the Western Hemisphere.

"It was clear he was the real deal," said Michelle Genece, a CNN senior producer of the Heroes segments. "He's a committed selfless person who created his international organization without going through the usual bureaucratic process. He goes outside the red tape and does it himself. He's a self-trained CEO really."

Jackson, a skinny, often bearded former caddie who hails from an affluent Destin family involved in golf course design, has a knack for networking and building support groups over the Internet and in person. He also benefits from the sponsorship of Sean Cononie, a high-profile homeless advocate who created the Homeless Voice shelters in South Florida.

"I'm not surprised at all that Aaron got picked because he's a pure advocate," said Cononie, who often lives at the shelter with Aaron and other advocates. "He's taken this idea of his and he's done all these great things with it, which is what a hero is."

Over the last two years, Jackson has piggybacked on Cononie's connections to interest people in funding de-worming campaigns in Haiti and building orphanages. He's gained the support of a Hollywood church and synagogue and has raised tens of thousands of dollars.

The publicity alone from the CNN series, which features short documentaries on Jackson and other advocates, has raised between $40,000 to $50,000 in mailed checks and Internet donations, according to Jackson.

"People act like what I do is so difficult, and it can be hard at times, but I just sit down at my computer and make connections with people," said Jackson, a college dropout. "I tell people that Google is my university. That's how I find things out. That's what leads me to other people."

Jackson stresses he doesn't do this work alone. Typically, he arrives in a country like Haiti or Guatemala without speaking the native language and taps into local advocacy networks. He usually sleeps in churches or youth hostels, and draws up a plan with his new partner to open up an orphanage perhaps, or buy land to preserve the environment.

"You can't work in a country like Haiti without a great partner, and I'm really lucky because I work with a tremendous person," said Jackson, who has partnered with a Haitian activist named John Dieubon. "But after that, you just do it. You really don't need the bureaucracy. Haiti is so poor I could open up a clinic right across from the presidential palace and help people."

But his work does take a toll. Jackson has caught several debilitating tropical diseases and has been hospitalized with MRSA, the drug-resistant bacterial infection. Still, he's proud to say he saves the money he could spend staying in an apartment or luxury hotel and puts it into his operations.

"But I have to say this publicity has been a bit overwhelming," said Jackson, whose organization is Plantingpeace.Org. "I have 500 thank-you notes to write, and a lot of paperwork to clear up. I'm a bit stretched operationally, you might say, but I'm not going to slow down. Not at all."

Staff Writer Tim Collie can be reached at tcollie@sun-sentinel.com or at 954-356-4573.